Computerized methods for reviewing a business's database that houses or has the business's chargeable supplies or services are known in the art. For example, in the health care industry, hospitals and physicians use databases called item masters, chargeable item masters, or chargeable item databases to house descriptions of all of the chargeable supplies and services that they provide. In order for a hospital to be able to collect on billed claims, its item master must be compliant with federal regulations because claims are generated based on the information contained in the item master, including pricing, codes, and descriptions of chargeable items. Thus, errors in the item master can affect a hospital's or a physician's ability to collect on a claim. Additionally, computerized methods for periodically reviewing these databases for compliance are known in the art. However, given the frequent changes in federal and local regulations governing the health care industry, it is increasingly difficult for those in charge of billing for these institutions to keep up with these changes and to ensure that the information contained in the database is compliant and accurate with applicable regulations and standards. Incorrect entries in the database can have serious consequences. For example, a given hospital may lose millions of dollars in annual reimbursements when patients are either undercharged or not charged at all for goods or services received. Additionally, inconsistent entries between departments in a given institution mean that one department may be undercharging for a given service, thus cutting into the institution's overall reimbursements. In some instances, noncompliant entries in the item master can even lead to claims arising under the False Claims Act.
It is an arduous task for hospital administrators to implement the frequent changes in health care billing regulations and when changes are implemented, it is difficult for administrators to confirm that the changes have been entered correctly.